Improvements to the described regions of the PAT scales

The focus of this project was on enhancing the descriptive elements of the PAT scales for two instruments:

PAT Reading Comprehension, and

PAT Maths

For each scale, the goal was to move beyond the current described regions, which consist of collections of generic item descriptors, to produce a detailed description of the ‘learning journey’. This was done by bringing together the perspectives of educators directly involved in teaching, learning and curriculum delivery, and item writers and psychometricians familiar with the empirical evidence of student achievement derived from test instruments.

The project team built on work describing the PAT scales for the PAT resources. IBT items that had been equated with PAT were also considered, along with relevant work undertaken in the GEM Centre, the NAPLAN described scales and any other similar work on describing and unpacking learning. An equating study to link the ISA and PAT scales was undertaken in early 2015.

The project was led by Prue Anderson in conjunction with Daniel Urbach, and was supported through the PAT Steering Group.

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